Country Cook News – January 11, 2013

My mom absolutely loved quiche and recently I discovered this recipe for Ham Quiche with Rice Crust tucked away in one of her old recipe boxes. I added green chilies, Louisiana hot sauce and a touch of yellow mustard to give it a taste-lift. The ham, cheese and eggs seemed to compliment the rice crust, and to me it tasted much better than the traditional flour crust. I think this quiche would be every bit as good without the ham although my husband said he prefers it with the ham. Either way it makes a light and satisfying meal that’s sure to garner “compliments to the chef.”

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BLOG OF THE WEEK

Are you longing for an Outback Steakhouse baked potato, Sweet Tomato Creamy Herbed Turkey Soup, or Cracker Barrel Broccoli Cheddar Chicken Casserole? CopyKat Recipes is the place to find these recipes so you can cook up all your restaurant faves at home. Take a peek at the article, Best New Recipes of 2012 chosen according to pages viewed on the CopyKat site throughout the year. And watch the video showing how to make the Bacon Cheddar Ranch Pull-Apart Bread – you can be sure I’ll be making it for the next party…your place or mine?

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FIXING COOKING DISASTERSFor Dummies: Fixing Cooking Disasters is a great site! Culinary bloopers are inevitable so pin it or bookmark it because Murphy’s Law tells me you might need this site one day when you’re dinner guests are ringing the doorbell…

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CB’s KITCHEN TIP

SALT & PEPPER: Add a pinch of black pepper to water along with the salt, that way there’s no question whether you’ve salted the cooking water.

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THIS WEEK’S ANSWER TO ASK CYNTHIA A QUESTION – January 9, 2013

Carol asked: I love ketchup and I have not found any organic or sugar-free ketchup I like. Do you make your own ketchup? I would love to replicate Heinz ketchup without all the sugar.

My answer: I’ve never made homemade ketchup. It’s a food I don’t often eat and I only use it in small amounts in some recipes. To replicate any store-bought ketchup will be close to impossible without using some type of sweetener because all commercially made ketchup is loaded with sugar and/or corn syrup although specialty stores might carry ketchup made with honey, stevia, etc.

I’d suggest you choose a recipe for homemade ketchup that appeals to you and then substitute the sugar with honey, stevia, molasses (small amount), and agave; whatever natural sweetener you prefer. All the recipes I found for homemade ketchup called for sugar except the recipe on IntheRaw.com where they use raw sugar and agave. If you’re really trying to duplicate, then the sweetener might have to be greatly increased to your taste. Make sure to use molasses is tiny amounts and you might try mixing the sweeteners rather than using just one.